Wire spoke and the like



FJ. 2s, 192sf 1,660,319 C. S. ASH

WIRE SPOKE AND THB LIKE Filed May 10, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet ll Feb. .28, 1928. I

C. S. ASH

May 10. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l .1, EF

Patented Feb. 2s, 1928.

CHART/ings s.` ASH, on RoY'AL ortie :Leimuiden WIRE sriokn] AND' THE LI:KE. v

This invention relatesto' the" productionl of wire wheel spokes for use'in what are known as wire wheels for vehicles and'niore particularly, automobile Wheels comprising a hub and rizn with wire spokes interlaced between and connecting the hub'y and riln.

Such spokes are usually formed from wire with a headat one end thereof'torined by upsetting the end ot the wire and are screwv threaded attheir opposite end to receive a suitable nut by means of which' the spoke isA secured to the wheel rim and put under tension, the head being engaged with the wheel hub and seated in a seat therein. lt has been found'that such spokes-usually break, either adj acent theV head `or inner end of the screw-thread, due to the weakenedy condition of thefnietal at those points and to the comparativeA rigidity ot lthe intermediate body portion of the spoke which hecause of its rigidity transniits'the bending strains to the weakest parts adjacent the head and threaded end;` i An objectot' the present inventioiris togive to the spokehead such a coniigguration` that the4 part will not be weakened-by the operation oi' vupsettingthe head, and 'to so'. torni thethreaded end that the spoke will not be materially weakened at theinner terniination ofthe*- thread.- 'A further object is to so torni the spoke` a'sto distribute the strains .throughout the lengtl'r thereof,`add'- ing strength and rigidity at those peints' wherebreakage is liable togoccur and mak-- ing. the interinediatel body portion of greater flexibility than -is usually providedrto take anddistribute the bending s`t=ra=ins. v ltV isalso an objecttoprovi'de a spokewhieh may be producedl'by the usual-fnianutacturing methods with a configuration which' will give the 'InaXiinu1n strengthand which will have' certain other'new andusetul features, all as' hereinafter more fully describedl lVith the above and other ends' in view, the invention consists in the matters' hereinafterfse'tforth and' more particularly' pointe' ed out inthe appended claims, referenee -bekv ing had to the accompanying*drawings in which i 1" l Figure l is al side elevation' olf a spoke illustrative ofthe ini'ention;`

Figs. 2, 3 and 4- are similari views showing slightly modifiedconstructions; f@ n l' Fig. 5 is an enlarged view sl'iowing a tui"- therrinoditied construction;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged longitudinal see- 1923; serial' no, 637,947.

tional vieWgof a screw-threaded end `portion ofy a spokey and antit or nipple applied thereto;

F ig. 7 A1s a detail of a spoke `head'showing 'I anoid construction andillustrating thev condition 'ot' thenietal after the upsetting et' the heady f, Fig. 8 is a kdetail 'of a spoke head illustra- -tive ol the present invention' and'illustrat#` ing the condition ot the nietal atterthe head upsetting operation, and

Y Fig'. 9 is a side elevation of a'cap screw embodying features et theinvention. Y

ln the torining ot wire` spokes embodying the present invention,` a1 drawn steel Wire ot suitable diameter and length is providedijV andas shown in Fig. 1; this wire l setfat one end totorni a head i a shank portion j 3 adjacent slightly greater diameter than et the wire l. ingl dies (not down to adiaineter sinaller than its original diameter; ironia point a rshort Ydista-nce troni thev inner end ot the upsetjanch-enlarged shank portion 3, throughout the inaiuor bodyportion tot the `spoke t0 a short distance troni the opposite end thereof, the swaging dies beingfreleased slightly at this point to increase" i i i end portion ot' the spoke, and then this swaged end' portion 5 is screw-threaded, as

'the head ot' the diameter at Gv to receive a` suitable` nutwor nipple 7.

shank retains the full strength' or toughnessv and rigidity of the original wire toitake the severe torsional or bending strains to which the innerer hub-end portions of the spokes,

are subjected vin ythe assembled vvheeh and by swagingf the nieansor niddle portion 4 orthe spoke, which portionis comparatively long, the stretchr is taken out ot the spoke to prevent its becoming loose under severe f strains in use andis .also made resilient so that it willY bendgslightly in use, and,'being c, up- 2' thereon and By inean'sof suitable swagvis'` shown) the wire is swagedv ai@ ungut for the diameter of lthis i the metal adjacent the head isk fBy leaving' alpor# of considerable length, will distribute such bending action over a major portion of the` tion being swaged sufficiently however, toV

e take out the stretch. The spoke is therefore,`in effect, a tapered spoke, beingof greatest diameter and strength at its head end and reduced in steps from said end.

To further guard against breakage ofv the spoke at the inner end of the thread, said i thread 6 is `formed of gradually decreasing depth from intermediate the ends of the threaded section inwardly, running out at the inner end near the inner end of the end portion 5 of the spoke, said thread being preferably a rolled thread, and thus the spokeisnot weakened by the thread beyond the inner end of the nut or nipple 7 .when the saine is in place thereon. Liability of y breakage due to cutting away or displaceated.

ment of the metal by the formation ofthe thread on the spoke end, is therefore obvif In Fig. 7 of t-he drawings is'illustra'ted a spoke head 9 as commonly formed, and `what happens :to the nietal libres in the operation of upsetting a head of this form, is illustrated by lines drawn upon the figure showing that by reason of the comparatively flat lform of the upper end face 10 of the head,

the longitudinal fibres of the n'ietal are distorted or crushedendwise instead of, asin applicants construction illustrated in Fig; 8, being spread and movedbodily endwise. In the old construction, the upsetting pressure upon the end of the wire simply cruin ples, crushes and compresses the libres because the crown l()` or upper surface of the head is substantially flat and the metal libres adjacent `the longitudinal axis ofthe wire are shortened in the forming operation while the outer libres are spread laterally to give the increased head-diameter.` Because of this breaking down of the metal libres where the head 'joins the shank, the spoke is weakened at this point and it is found that this is where it usually breaks.` To prevent` such disintegration of the libres, a head of this common-form should` have a crown as `indicated by the dotted line a, but this would not bepractical ina spoke construction as the crown wouldproyectztoo far y In the present construction the conical or side surface ll of the head is so formed that if the cone be completed as indicated in dot Y ted lines at b, its apex would be located at a point in the longitudinal axis of the shank wall inwardly from the meeting of the shank and head 4as indicated at c, and by forming the end surface or crown l2 of the head concentric with this apeX of point c where the planes of the surfaces l1 nieet,the metal libres of the head and shank adjacent" the `longitudinal axis thereof will be of substantially the same'length as thesurrounding fibres, and will not be vcrushed or disintegrated in the forming operation, and that part ofthe `spoke where the shankjoins the head will be as strong as any other part. Furthenby giving the head a greaterdegrec of taper, less crownV is necessary and the fibres are spread laterally .to 4forni the head without bending at an abrupt angle where the head joins the shank and the head is provided with an extended seating surface. y i

4ln other words, in the common form, the

metal is crushed and compressed in forming l the head, thus greatly decreasing its tensile strength, while the present form is given such conliguration that the metal is permitted to liow and, spread without disrupting its li-` brous construction, the crown providing a space in the dies for' the met-,also that the center libres will not be crushed or moved.

endwise relative to the Vsurrounding fibres,

and the fibrous structure of the metal is re-` tained.` i

Swaging of wire makes but more resilientand flexible, atthe saine time taking out the stretch Vor elongation under heavy strains.` Wire spokes formed from unswaged wire, therefore, elongate` under the heavy strains lto which they arei subjected in use and itis therefore desirable portion of their lengthin order to eliminate y it hard and brittle, Y

Y to swage them, at leastt-hroughouta major` Y in the wheel. Swaging, as above pointed out makes the'wire more or less brittle and in-,

creases its resiliency and flexibility,` and therefore it. is desirable that that portion ofV the spoke which is subjected to severe bending strains, be madestrong and rigid, `while Y the major portion or body of the spoke bev swaged tok increase its flexibility and thus distribute the bending action throughout a considerable length of the spoke.` Wirespokes for vehicle wheels must, necessarily, be

Vmade as lightin weight and small in diameter aspossible to reduce the weight ofthe complete wheel and give ita neat and attractive.`

, appearance, and also to secure the desired resiliency.. Further, as the bending strain` upon these spokes is less. toward their outer` ends than near their inner ends, their outer end portions may be reduced in diametery without materially weakening the spokes. It is therefore highly desirable to provide a spoke of decreasing diameter from its head and outwardly, and suoli construction is shown in the accompanying drawings, such mation as shown in Figs. 1 to?) inclusive and by a gradual tapering of the main swaged portion 12 of the spoke, as shown 1n Fig. 4.

In order to give added strength and rigidityl to the extremeV outer or threaded end portion 5 of the spoke, said portion may be reduced in diameter to a less extent than-the main portion 4 by the swagingoperation, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, if found desirable, but such formation will usually be found unnecessary where the thread is gradually tapered out as illustrated at 6in Fig. 5, as such tapering out of the thread beyond the end of the nut or nipple 7 prevents the breaking of the spoke at this point due to the distribution of the bending strains over a considerable length of the spoke instead of localizing such strains.

As previously pointed out, when the' head Y is given the preferred extended taper, said head has an increased seating area within its seat in the hub of the Wheel and such seating will prevent movement of the head within its seat. In certain wheel constructions this, may be found of advantage, but in those constructions where movement of the head in its seat is desirable, this conical surface may be curved slightly longitudinally of the head, as shown at 13 in Fig'. 5.

Obviously the form of head whereby the breaking down of the metal fibres in the upsetting operation is prevented, may be applied to articles other than wire spokes, as may also the idea of tapering or running out of the thread whereby the kbending strain which would otherwise be localized within the last turn of the thread is distributed over a considerable length of the body inward from the last turn of full depth, and as an illustration of such application, a cap screw is shown in Fig. 9 wherein a conical head 14 is formed upon a body 15 by an upsetting operation with the crown 16 of the head formed concentric with the point 17 of intersection of thexplanes of the conical side sur'- faces 18 of the head, for the purpose hereinl i before described. At its' opposite end the body is formed with a screw-thread 19 with the inner turns of this thread tapered as at 20 or formed of gradually decreasing depth until they finally run out upon the surface of the body. In a cap screw or other device employing a screw-threaded end and which is subjected to bending strains, the breaking ofthe body within the inner turn is prevented by the distribution of these bending y y strains by the tapering outl of the thread.

Other modifications and applications of the present invention are contemplated within the scope of the appended claims which are therefore to be construed broadly and not as limited to the particular construction shown. y .i

That I claim is 1. A wire spoke including a body with anl upset truncated conical head having a crowned end surface formed concentric with the apex ofthe completed cone.

2. A wire spoke including a body having a. rolled thread at one end, the root of which thread is gradually increased in diameter, tapering outwardly to the full diameter of the body. 1 t

,3. A wire spoke including a body having an upset truncated'conical head at one end, said head having a crowned end surface formed concentric with the apex of the completed cone, and the opposite end of said body being formed with a rolled thread the root diameter of which thread isgradull increased, tapering outwardly to the full diameter of the body.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

CHARLES s. ASH. 

